Rise of a New Order
by cosmic-writer-420
Summary: After Sora and Riku defeat Xemnas, a new group of Nobodies emerge with the ideal to become whole again
1. Prolouge

disclaimer: The characters presented in this fan FICTION belong to the great imaginative minds of Tetsuya Nomura and assoc., Walt Disney and assoc., and the people belonging to the 18th order.

It was silent. The silence filled the air with nothingness, and only three men stood. Sora, a 15-year-old boy, who was about 5'7'' with oak brown hair; and his best friend Riku, he was 16-years-old, 5'10'' with ocean blue eyes and platinum hair. They were the Heroes of Light and warriors of the Keyblade. The third man was taller than both of the boys and had a long silver mane. His name was Xemnas, he was the leader of Organization XII; and the last of the Nobody threat that used the Heartless to bring chaos to the worlds.

As Sora delivered the final blow, Xemnas let out a small growl: "Keyblade…" And he vanished into nothingness. Riku was weak and began to lose his balance. As he tipped, Sora put his arm over his shoulder, and hoisted Riku up. They walked into the blinding light, and left the Realm of Nothing.

The Heroes were oblivious to the great force they had just released into existence. Xemnas' death had triggered a signal to go off deep into the basement of his great castle.

In a dark room, hidden behind many floors and walls, experiments of the heart were taking place. There stood a tall figure in a black cloak, and a hood covering his face. His low voice muttered something of "Darnkess of the heart…" when he yawned and sat in a nearby chair. He laid his head onto his arm when a blue light flashed, and a computer screen began to beep.

The figure stood up and with great speed, appeared in front of the computer. He made many keystrokes and froze immediately. He began his slow trek before a thick led-wall. He placed his hand upon the wall and a keypad emerged. He punched in the code and the great wall began to separate. The hooded figure stood before the wall and a white smoke slowly filled the room. He looked up and all that was visible through his dark hood, were his crimson eyes.

Beyond the wall stood a boy in the same dark cloak as the other man, but his hood was down. He had short black hair and ebony eyes. He was shackled to the wall and bound by many layers of chains. He looked upon the crimson eyed man and he began to laugh.

"So, Xemnas has become nothing instead of Nobody?" His voice was that of a boy, yet it held great wisdom with it. The hooded man simply stood in place and remained silent. "You do know what that means doesn't it? I mean, you've been here long enough…" The hooded man walked forward until he reached the boy and stood staring. His crimson eyes pierced the boy until he could stand it no more. "I'm number 1 now so I command you to release me! We have to gather our siblings if we want to become whole again…"

"You think you can do it?" asked the hooded man in a deep voice much like the chained boy's voice; it held much wisdom. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange key in the shape of the Nobody symbol. He placed the key against the boy's wrist and the chains disappeared immediately.

The boy stood on his feet and let out a satisfied growl as he stretched. "Now we've got to find our first brother and sister No. 4." The hooded man grabbed the boy by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"You dare rank me as 4? I am the man who set you free! I deserve the position of 1; at least rank 2!!" His crimson eyes began to glow and fangs appeared on his face the longer he spoke.

The boy simply grinned and kept his demeanor. "You also took your sweet time in freeing me. You will be number 4, and we shall retrieve our brother and sister." The hooded man laughed and released the boy. He removed his hood. He could've been no older the other boy. He stood only a few inches taller with black hair just above his crimson eyes, and a red stripe going through his jet-black hair.

"That's the kind of thing we need in a leader. Someone who can keep his cool and plans ahead." The crimson-eyed boy lent his hand to the other. "The name's Shoujax."

The boys stood for a while in the dark lab. The computer's hum and the boiling beakers were the only things that could be heard. The smaller boy finally gave in and took Shoujax' hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Shoujax. I'm jYexrem. Your new leader." He looked Shoujax into his eyes with an extremely stern face.

Shoujax sighed at the realization that this boy would indeed be his new leader. "Well, No. 1, what's next?" jYexrem laughed and began to walk off from the lab.

"First, we need to find a new castle. Apparently the great witch Malifecint has taken this castle for herself, and as we are, she would stop us before we can complete our mission."

Shoujax looked perplexed. "What is our mission, Leader?" jYexrem stood tall and confident as he spoke.

"To bring the order to the worlds and regain our hearts and existence!"

Shoujax grinned at his new leader's proposition. "I was skeptical at first, but I can definitely put myself at your command; for now."

jYexrem stared at Shoujax trying to get a judge of character, but something was blocking him mentally. He shrugged it off, there were more important things at hand. "No. 4, we have 2 new members to bring into our Order."

"Already? Today is filled with all kinds of excitement today. Where are they?"

"There's one wandering the Realm of Darkness, I'll take that one. There's one in the ice world Hoth you can have that one."

Shoujax cringed at the word ice. "Of course it was ice. Well leader, where will me meet?"

jYexrem had created a Dark Corridor in which to travel into the Realm of Darkness. "The one you find should know the location, see you there, Messenger of Truth." jYexrem closed his eyes and entered the Dark Corridor. Shoujax followed his lead and walked through his own Dark Corridor.

All was dark when he opened eyes, or he thought his eyes were open. He couldn't tell if he was moving or staying still. Up, down, left and right; all directions meant nothing here. All this seemed to familiar to jYexrem. Then strange laugh filled the air.

"What has sent you here?" boomed the laughing voice.

"I am here to give you purpose! To give you power and existence!"

The voice laughed again. "Here, I am existence! I control the shadows!" Then as suddenly as the voice appeared, a man stood before jYexrem. It was another man. He smiled at jYexrem as a little man appeared beside him. "You picked the wrong guy to antagonize!" the little man screeched. "This is the greatest warrior in the Shadow Realm." jYexrem grinned and looked at both the men.

"You are simply Nobody as is. With me, I can give you meaning and existence, you can become whole once again. Doesn't your true name haunt you?"

The short man looked perplexed. "What does he mean boss?" He looked up at his higher up who was fuming with rage. He began to glow with a dark aura, while his tiny companion laughed. "Now you have to face, The King of Kings!"

The taller man then charged jYexrem and knocked him clear off his feet. He hovered over the spot jYexrem fell and summoned shadows to swallow him. JYexrem kept his composure as the shadows swallowed him whole.

As the man hit the floor his companion ran to his side. "Wow, Boss! You really showed him!" The ground began to shake with tremendous force, and it finally broke through. The man and his companion fell through into the void and landed into the Realm of Nothing.

A giant falcon hovered above the man, as he stared unflinching into the beast's eyes. His companion was shaking at his side. "B-Boss…" the little man stuttered. But the beast began his assault. The man shoved his companion to the side and charged the falcon head on.

He wrapped his enemy in shadows and held it back. He pummeled its head into the ground as it screeched in pain. The beast then broke through the shadows and pinned the man to the floor. The man tried to break free but it was to no avail. "I need more power…" He thought. "MORE!"

jYexrem grinned. "I can give it to you…The power, the meaning, even existence. Do you want it?" The man simply nodded. All became silent and all that stood in the darkness was the man and jYexrem. "Can you remember your true name?" The man nodded and hung his head.

"Sammie…" The man replied. jYexrem gave a curt smile and raised his hands as the light began to create the letters S-A-M-M-I-E appeared before them both.

"Do you give up this name and all it means, for the pursuit of new existence and greater power than you can imagine?" The man screamed "YES!" as loud as his lungs would allow him. The letters began to rotate faster, and faster until it was just a blur of light. jYexrem slammed his hands against the letters and the word "Xiammes" appeared.

"Rise Xiammes," instructed jYexrem. "This is your new existence, Xiammes. If all goes well, you will be our number 3." jYexrem opened a Dark Corridor and instructed Xiammes to walk through. "Our number 4 should be back with number 2. Let's head to our new base…"

A howling wind struck Shoujax in the face and he immediately hit the floor and covered his face. "That guy new I'd hate this place…" Shoujax slowly raised to his feet and walked off into the white distance.

All he saw was white and all he heard was wind. "I have to concentrate." He thought. "I must find him…my new brother." And he was still. Shoujax no longer heard the howling wind and he didn't see white, he saw darkness. He waited for what seemed like days before he heard a voice.

"Who's there?" The voice seemed quiet and timid. It wasn't what he'd expect from the other Nobodies he's seen over the years.

"I am Shoujax! I'm here to bring you hope and meaning! To bring you back with me, sister! I know how you came to be, because I am the same. I'm a Nobody too." Shoujax' voice was low and filled with sadness.

There was nothing but silenced that filled the air. The sadness of Shoujax' speech seemed to linger in the air. "Would you like to become whole again? Would you like your own memories instead of the ones implanted into you?"

As Shoujax' last words exited his mouth, there was a horrible screech. He opened his eyes and there stood a woman on her knees screaming. Shoujax immediately leapt to her side, but a strange creature attacked him. It was floating through the air but it had a familiar insignia upon its chest. Shoujax reached into his pocket for his weapon. "You know, our leader wasn't exactly specific in his order's to capture you."

The woman looked up and met Shoujax' crimson eyes with her sky blue eyes. Shoujax froze in his tracks. Shoujax sighed "It had to be a girl…" he thought. Shoujax hit the floor he let out a scream, and a bolt of lightning struck the creature and it began to fade. He looked down on the woman who's eyes were unfeeling and looked deep into Shoujax' mind. "You seem to know what you're doing, but I need you to come with me." Shoujax made a familiar pose and lent his hand to the woman.

The woman rose to her feet silently and reached her hand towards Shoujax'. But instead of a friendly gesture, he got a staff to the face. He flew back a few yards and regained composure. The strike was forceful and cold to the touch.

Shoujax charged the woman and reached into his cloak, and pulled out a pair of tiger claws. As the woman went to strike again, Shoujax dodged the strike with lightning speed and went for a strike to her throat; but he stopped suddenly and hit the floor.

His feet were frozen to the ground. The woman rose into the air like an angel of death, and began to pummel Shoujax with hail. Shoujax took the grunt of this barrage and merely smiled. "This one is good, she knows how to fight."

He broke the ice around his ankles and stared into the face of his enemy. She looked down on him and her eyes burned with ferocity and power. Shoujax laughed and removed his hood. He parted his hair and revealed a purple eye on his forehead. "With this, I will give you power!" He began to growl and fell on all fours. He roared with great force and shook the earth around him. He grew fierce fangs and claws extended from his extremities. Great electric forces began to fill the air around him and he took the shape, of a great beast; the tiger. He then looked upon the face of his enemy.

Her eyes had changed into those of a child looking upon a murderer. The fear poured out of them and filled Shoujax with a sense of relief. He jumped into the air and pinned her to the cold ice below. Her shriek echoed through the vast wasteland and multiple ice spears went through the newly formed Shoujax. All that could be heard was "Look into the eye…" It repeated over and over in the girl's head and drove her mad. She looked into the purple gem upon the beast's head, and a strange power overtook her.

She shrieked again and more ice and snow barraged the tiger, but he kept her pinned unmercifully. Her eyes began to glow as she realized her situation, and she began to transform. This woman changed into another beast. She grew wings and her claws rivaled those of Shoujax. Her beautiful face had changed into that of a dragon. Her wings had been inscribed, with the Nobody symbol.

Shoujax stood over her and grinned. "You are our number 2. Can you remember your true name?" He touched her forehead to his and they both changed back into their normal forms, and stood in the howling wind.

"Caitlin…" The woman finally spoke after a moment that seemed like eternity. Shoujax grinned and lifted his hand. The letters C-A-I-T-L-I-N appeared before the woman.

"Do you relinquish your true name so that you may become a new person?" The woman nodded her head. The letters spun around the woman's head and Shoujax pressed out his hands and the word "Nixalcti" was in front of her. "Welcome to the Order, Nixalcti. You're No. 2" Nixalcti opened a Dark Corridor and stepped through.

"Follow me, to our new base."

As they stepped through, they appeared on a dirt road. There was an endless field behind them. "Where are we?" Shoujax asked. Nixalcti smirked and simply replied

"This is The Blank Shot Saloon. I don't know why, but I was told to come here a long time ago."

Shoujax looked perplexed but knew this was Xemnas' plan all along. He kept his faith in his former leader and followed Nixalcti into the bar. It was a spacious bar. It seemed empty but everything ran and looked as if it had just opened the day before. "So who are we waiting for, sir?" Nixalcti asked.

Shoujax let out a nervous laugh and replied, "You're my superior, you don't have to call me sir. But my name is Shoujax. I am number 4."

Nixaclti let out a meek smile. "Well, I'll call you 4 then!" The duo sat at a table and began to drink a bottle of, what they thought was, whiskey. They spent their time talking of their lives before they were Nobodies. "I found it to be poetic justice," Nixalcti remarked. "The fact my heart froze over with darkness and I can manipulate ice." Shoujax laughed as another dark corridor appeared in the saloon. Nixalcti simply giggled and said, "jYexrem, it's good to see you again." jYexrem simply nodded and the others introduced themselves.

"Now that the introductions are out of the way," jYexrem began "we can focus on our main goal: to rebuild the organization to its former glory, become whole, and bring our order into the worlds."

"But, Leader, " Shoujax conjectured "the old organization was defeated by only a handful of people, how will our fate differ from theres?"

"It's simple. Out of the many truths out there, we will stay true to one: strength in numbers. When carrying out these missions we will use other members in the beginning, but as our numbers grow, we can follow the old path and use our Minions."

"Sounds reasonable." Xiammes replied "But how can we find them?"

"With Shoujax' power and mine, we can seek out our siblings and rebuild our empire."

Number's 2 and 3 looked at Shoujax and jYexrem. "What powers do you have?"

"Allow me, Leader" Shoujax interrupted as jYexrem was about to proceed. He sat back in his chair and let Shoujax take command of the conversation. "We all are aware that Xemnas had planned for us to lead in the downfall of the Organization, right?" The others nodded. "We all have our own powers. 1 can locate other nobodies due to his vast knowledge of world's and existence. I can find them using this." Shoujax removed his hood and revealed his third eye again.

"With this, I can look into the hearts and minds of others…including the world's. I can see who is on the world and where they're at. It takes a lot of energy, but with this eye, I can do amazing things…"

"Then let's raise our glasses!" jYexrem shouted. "To the birth of a new order!" The founders raised their glasses in the Blank Shot Saloon, and began the rebuilding, of the 18th Order.

you try thinking of an ice world better than Hoth.


	2. Deja Vu?

The ocean breeze blew through the palm trees and the seagulls flapped and left their nests. All was peaceful on Destiny Islands. A duo lay on the beach staring up into the cloud free sky.

It had been four years since the battle with Xemnas. The heroes of light spent most of their days since then doing just this. Riku hadn't grown much, but he kept his long platinum hair. He changed his ensemble to a dark blue under shirt with a snow-white vest and torn jeans. Sora, however, grew almost as tall as Riku. He kept his black jacket but switched to ruby red shorts with a dark blue shirt matching Riku's.

Riku let out a sigh. "Sora, this is becoming like it was back then. Very boring."

"Well, Riku, maybe the king's letter will cheer you up. Kairi should have gotten it already."

A voice shouted from behind them. "You lazy bums! Why do I have to get the letter every time?!" The duo looked back upon their best friend Kairi. She was only a few inches shorter then the boys. Her fiery red hair clashed with her crystal blue eyes. Her pink outfit seemed to match her bubbly personality. She stood holding a rolled piece of paper with the familiar symbol of King Mickey. "Maybe I should toss this back into the ocean where I found it…"

The boys conjectured and reached for the letter. The trio laughed and scuffled on the beach until they were lying down and laughing in the sand. "Riku," Sora started, "how could you have gotten tired of this?" Riku remained silent as this was one of his most sensitive subjects. He couldn't stand the memories of betraying his friends.

After a moment of silence Sora snatched the letter from Kairi and began to read it aloud. "Hello everyone! I hope this letter reaches you in time. It seems the worlds are in danger again. Stars have been going out one by one at a rapid pace these last few weeks. As you're all aware, this happened before when Ansem tried to open the Door to Darkness. We need to keep Kairi and the other princesses safe in case someone is trying to recreate his plan. As if this weren't enough, it seems the Organization has returned."

"No…."

"Sora?" He had drifted off into his memories as Roxas. He was exploring his old home in The Castle That Never Was. He followed all the twists and turns into the deepest part of the castle. He had reached a dead end. He could feel tremendous power behind them. "What's beyond here…I can't reach beyond." Roxas thought.

"13?" He spun around and Xemnas stood behind him. "You are to never come near this part of the castle again," he demanded.

"But why, Xemnas?"

"Here lays the first half of our resurrection. You are to leave them alone. In the event Organization XIII were to fade out of 'existence' they would pick up our goal and avenge us."

"Sora!" As Sora came out of his daydream, he was staring into Kairi's blue eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just dozed off a bit." He smiled at his love and put her mind at ease. He continued to read the king's letter.

"It seems they've assembled 18 members and are using the Heartless to become whole, as the previous organization was. They've named themselves the 18th Order. I don't know who's leading them, and I need your help. Donald, Goofy and I will arrive tomorrow. I'll explain the plan once we return to Disney Castle. Be safe and be on guard. The Heartless may attack at any time."

They heroes stood in awe of the message they'd just received. "How could the Order have been created?" Riku asked. "We destroyed all their members didn't we?"

"Well," Sora began "When I was daydreaming, I was Roxas. I was exploring the castle, looking for this immense power that I felt. I went to the deepest part of the castle, until I reached this giant wall. The power was coming from behind it, but Xemnas stopped me. He told me that that if the Organization was destroyed, the power behind it would avenge them."

Riku and Kairi contemplated Sora's words. "Is that all you saw?" Riku asked.

"Well, Kairi snapped me out of it before I could hear more." Kairi's face turned bright red and she gazed down onto the sand.

"I'm….I'm sorry. If I had known…" Sora placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a look of reassurance. "Thank you." She muttered.

Riku decided to break the awkward silence with, "Well, we should prepare for our trip. I'll get some potions and ethers from the moogle shop in town." He ran off into the distance and left the two alone.

The ocean breeze blew Kairi's red hair to the side of her head. As the waves crashed against the shore, Sora led her to the Secret Spot. They entered the small opening and crawled through the dark tunnel until it opened up into a tiny cavern. The cavern had many drawings on the walls and a strange door with no knob against one side. The wind howled through an opening on the top of the cavern, where the sun shown onto a spot on the center where the couple sat down.

"Kairi," Sora began "you remember all those years ago, when the island was swallowed by darkness, and we were all separated?"

"Of course, Sora." She replied. "How could I forget?"

"Well, I want you to know, that'll never happen again. I promise." He held Kairi close to him. "You and I shared a heart, that bond is special. I'll make sure that you stay safe. We'll never be apart again. I went to many worlds and looked for you, Kairi; I never stopped."

Kairi giggled and put her head on Sora's shoulder. "I know, Sora. I trust you. You've never let me down before." The couple sat in the Secret Spot for a few moments and listened to the wind's haunting howl. After the couple had had their fill of privacy, the exited the cavern and headed out to get supplies.

As the sun set, the ocean and sky turned ablaze with orange and red. The trio met up on the beach and showed the fruits of their labor. Riku had gotten enough potions and ethers to supply a small army. He laughed embarrassingly, "Well, you never know how long this journey will last, right?" Kairi let out a giggle and looked to Sora.

"Wait till you guys see what I brought!" Sora boomed. He opened his backpack dramatically, and his allies gave him a strange look

"A Paupou Fruit?" Kairi asked.

"Well, you know the legend, if all six of us share this, our destinies will be intertwined, and we'll all see each other again." Sora's friends looked at each one another in amazement and began to laugh hysterically.

"Sora," Riku sputtered, "you're still just a kid."

The trio bid their farewells, and headed to their homes to await the arrival of Donald and Goofy. Unbeknownst to them, another trio was watching them from the Realm of Darkness. They stood in the matching black cloaks and had their hoods up. Two looked at the man in the middle, they stood silent waiting for his reply. "I'll begin the preparations, you two just make sure that the Heroes won't get in the way."

Laughs could be heard from the other two men. "Of course, Leader." One of the men announced.

"We won't fail you." As the second man uttered this, the apparent leader faded into darkness and reappeared in the Secret Spot. It was dark now. The fading sunlight made it hard to see. The man stood in front of the wooden door and sighed. "I know, but I promised them hearts, and I'm tired of this existence. Please, forgive me." The man removed his hood; it was Shoujax.

He parted his hair and revealed his third eye. It began to glow and a keyhole appeared on the door. Darkness poured out of the keyhole, and dark creatures began to sprout from the shadows. They were medium height, all black, crooked antenna and glowing yellow eyes. They were Heartless

"Heartless," Shoujax stated weakly. "Take the hearts of the denizens of this world, and be sure to find its heart." The Heartless sank back into the shadows, to follow out Shoujax' orders.

Sora laid in bed as a strange feeling came over him. "It feels like…Déjà vu" he thought. A streak of lightning shown through his window and a crack of thunder shook his house. "No!" Sora yelled. He grabbed his jacket and ran to the beach.

His feet hit the sand and he got the same familiar feeling as his first battle with the Heartless. Sora looked into the sky, and saw a familiar dark orb floating in the sky, swallowing everything on the island. He held out his and a gust of wind blew his jacket up. In his hand, was his keyblade. A silver blade in the shape of a key, its yellow handle guarded Sora's hand, and its key chain, matched that of the king's seal. He heard footsteps behind him, and rapidly spun around ready to pounce.

He saw Riku and Kairi standing with their keyblades. They both looked at Sora. "I'm actually surprised we didn't have to get you." Riku said. "You were the last one here the first time."

"Now isn't the time for jokes, Riku." Sora said seriously. "We have to seal the keyhole, and stop the Heartless before they take our world again!" The other Heroes nodded, and they were off to the Secret Spot.

After fighting their way through a small gang of Heartless, they emerged into the small cavern and looked upon Shoujax. He turned and gave the Heroes a smile. "Welcome, Princess. I need you to come with me."

Riku and Sora jumped in front of Kairi.

"You'll have to get through us first!" Sora roared.

Shoujax simply grinned and snapped his fingers. Immediately, two men appeared behind Riku and Sora and dragged them off into Dark Corridors.

Riku fell out of the Dark Corridor and landed onto a dock. Above him stood a moderately tall man in a black cloak with a hood covering his face. "Hello there!" the man said in a surprisingly kind voice. "I've waited awhile to meet you, Riku." The man removed his hood and revealed his face. He had short black hair and brown eyes. "I'm Lyrxet, reality's error.

Riku began to stand up, puzzled at the man's friendliness. "What do you want from me?" Riku demanded

"To fight you of course! To test the darkness of the man who Ansem so desperately wanted!" Lyrxet raised his hands and his wrists began to glow gold underneath his sleeves. A long sword appeared in his hand.

Riku charged Lyrxet and slashed his keyblade at him. Lyrxet raised his hand and blocked the keyblade, with the glowing part of his cloak. A long gong rang through the air. Lyrxet let out a smile and revealed his gauntlets.

"There's a reason I'm reality's error, Riku." Lyrxet pointed down and as Riku's gaze followed, the dock disappeared from underneath him and he fell into the ocean. As Lyrxet laughed, Riku shot out dark fireballs at him. Lyrxet dodged the attack and appeared behind him. "Why would the Seeker of Darkness want you? You have no control of your darkness."

Lyrxet placed his hand upon Riku's back and Riku screamed in agony. Darkness overflowed him and he passed out face down in the ocean water. Lyrxet sighed. "Leader said to distract you, not leave you to die." Lyrxet dragged the Hero's unconscious body onto the sandy beach. "Hopefully, you're not swallowed by the darkness like this world will be. I'd like to fight you again." And with that, Lyrxet faded back into darkness, and left Riku lying on the beach.

Sora appeared in on the beach directly in front of the Secret Spot. He saw no man standing near him and raced back toward it. Just before reaching the opening, he was blasted away by a strange force. When he regained composure, he looked upon a man with a scythe hovering above him.

"You're not worthy," the man stated. "I will make you worthy," and the man began to assault Sora with his scythe. Sora dodged the first swipe, but the man reversed the blade and swung back up. Sora blocked it with the keyblade and kicked the scythe out of the man's hands. He took his keyblade and swung straight for the man's head.

Sora's attack was stopped. He looked over to the sight where the scythe lay and couldn't understand what had just happened. He looked at the man's new weapon in awe. It was a keyblade. "You are not worthy," the man repeated and began a new assault on the Hero.

Sora and the man battled for what seemed like an eternity, but he knew he had to protect Kairi, "I promised," he thought. His keyblade began to glow with the power of light, and he swung at his enemy. As their keyblades clashed, a blinding light lit the dark stormy night as if it were day. The hooded man's keyblade disappeared and he stood without a weapon. "You are worthy," the man said, and he faded into darkness.

Sora didn't have time to ponder on what the man meant, he had to save Kairi. He raced back to the Secret Spot, hoping he wasn't too late.

Kairi and Shoujax were alone in the cavern. Shoujax walked toward her while Heartless began to block her exit.

"I won't go without a fight," she said.

Shoujax stopped immediately. "I may abuse the darkness, but I do have my morals." Kairi gave a puzzled look.

"Then, how do you plan on taking me?" she asked.

"In the most simplest of ways, Princess" Shoujax opened a Dark Corridor beneath Kairi, and she fell into darkness.

"No!" Sora had just arrived to the scene and had seen his love fall into darkness. "Bring her back!" he roared and began to assault Shoujax. Sora's rage blinded him and he didn't notice the Heartless bringing him to the floor.

Shoujax stood above the boy and grinned. "Your rage will help my rival. You'll have your princess back once my plans are complete." He bent down and patted Sora as if he were a dog. "Now be a good boy, and unlock those keyholes…" Shoujax laughed and faded into the darkness pouring from the keyhole.

Sora eradicated the Heartless and in his rage started beating anything in his sight. Completely forgetting about the keyhole upon the door. He fell to his knees and pounded the floor. "Kairi, I'm sorry." Sora uttered these last few words as the darkness took over the Destiny Islands.

Everything on the island had flown into the orb. The trees, the sand, and the ocean had all been turned to darkness. The Warriors of the keyblade, had failed to save their world.


	3. The Seeds Are Planted

"No!" "Sora!" Kairi screamed for him, but everything faded. There was nothing to see. "Falling...into...darkness," she thought to herself. "Ugh!" she had finally hit a solid plane. She rose checking her surroundings in silence.

"She doesn't look like she's much of a warrior," a voice broke the silence.

"Cause she's a princess r-tard," a second voice responded.

"But the keyblade has chosen her," another voice broke in. Within seconds three figures surrounded her from 10ft away. "Hello again princess," Shoujax removed his hood as he spoke. He offered her his hand, "We need you to come with us, as peacefully as possible"

"Peace?!" A bright light encompassed her right hand and extended into a keyblade. She held up her keyblade and it began to radiate a blinding light.

The men sheilded there eyes. Shoujax gave a nod, and one of the figures held up his right arm, and called forth his own keyblade. Darkness poured from the keyblade and clashed furiously with the light. Kairi began to weaken and the light slowly dimmed. The figure tooke a step toward her and the darkness began to overshadow the light. Kairi kneeled as her light faded and the shadows grew closer. With a sigh of exhaustion, her keyblade faded from her hand, and fainted back in the darkness.

"It's very strong," Shoujax said as they all began to move closer. "If she can learn to control it, she could prove useful. Alright Ly, take her home." Lyrxet began to reach for her, but Laxcus seperated them with his keyblade.

"Hey, you can take her if you want, just make sure it's cool with him" They both turned to look at Shoujax. As he stood in the darkness his eyes would glow a hollow crimson. They peered down at the keyblade Laxcus held, and gestured him to take her.

"Thank you," Laxcus said as he bowed to Shoujax. He rose and picked up Kairi,  
carrying her carefully, through a dark corridor the their home. Shoujax and Lyrxet stood in silence in the darkness.

"You know," Lyrxet began, "He's been acting a little strange lately"

"I know, I'm keeping an eye on him," Shoujax replied pointing to his forehead, as a purple flicker appeared and vanished rapidly. "Now, go back to the island and relax, I've gotta handle some business to take care of before I go to sleep," Shoujax half yawned as he spoke. The duo gave a wave and traveled through their dark corridors.

Castle Oblivion stood at the edge of a cliff, leading to a perpetual void. It stretched 13 stories to the sky and remained empty since it's last visitors years ago.

A young man stood in it's main entryway sitting on a small set of steps leading up to a grand doorway. "For a guy who can move at the speed of a lightning bolt, he's always late,"

Thrity yards from the man, three black lines sprouted from the ground and began to intertwine with one another rapidly. At the last point of intersection, a dark corridor blossomed into existance and Shoujax stepped forth from its depths with a nervous smile.

The portal shrank into nothing and the men stood in silence, as the wind howled through the deserted castle.  
"How's everybody?" jYexrem finally broke the silence.

"We're getting along smoothly, some arguing, but that's how we are, ya know?"

The two shared a light chuckle and the silence returned. Shoujax dug into his cloak and revealed a strange card. "It's from a memory of ours...I thought you might wanna take a look," Shoujax explained.

jYexrem rose and dusted himself off. "Sure, let's take a trip down memory lane" he spoke hollowly and without feeling, like a true Nobody. He turned to face the door, as Shoujax bolted next to him in an instant, leaving a trickling trail of electricity behind him. jYexrem chuckled, "Show off," Shoujax grinned and held the card to the door.

The card began to glow and rose from Shoujax' hand. It began to rotate slowly, the card shone brightly and the doors slowly creeked open. The duo looked at one another and walked in together.

The cold empty Castle Oblivion was gone, and an elegant garden stood before them. It contained numerous species of plants, from nearly every world. The Garden of Memories from the headquarters of The 18th Order. Shoujax and jYexrem stood side by side examining their surroundings, trying to recall the memory they were seeing.

Through an archway, with a fifteen feet arch, jYexrem stepped through and began looking for someone. "Shoujax! Where are you?!" his voice echoed through the garden, and was answered by the creeking of a windmill. jYexrem went to the windmill, and found the man he was looking for, playing with the hearts. "You're supposed to be doing research"

Shoujax continued examining the hearts and responded, "On my own terms, I believe we agreed on that. After being stuck in that lab together, I thought you'd understand my loathing of that place"

jYexrem sighed and a saphire light came from his palm over Shoujax. "Yes we did, and I hate that stupid room more than you, but we still need your mind doing research" as he spoke, the light exploded causing Shoujax to look up.

As Shoujax was distracted, jYexrem grabbed his head and pushed him through a dark corridor he created. Shoujax fell through the darkness into the corridor's opening into a new research lab deep in the castle. "Damnit, Rem, I was gonna come back, I just needed a break"

"No more than 3 days break, we agreed on that didn't we, Shou?" jYexrem smiled as he saw Shoujax sigh and put on a traditional white lab coat.

"Yeah, we did, I'll get right on it," He walked toward a grand computer and began keystroking. "Hey, where's Rextly, he's supposed to be helping isn't he?"

"Oh yeah," jYexrem replied, "His 3 days start today, so you're on your own for awhile," jYexrem gave a smile and waved leaving the laboratory up a jade staircase.

The room, the lab, and the memories soon began to fade, and jYexrem and Shoujax stood in the empty hallway leading to the second floor.

"What was the point of that?" jYexrem asked.

"I wanted to start off with a good memory," Shoujax replied. "Just think about how hard Rex and I worked on our research, and how much you wanted it done." He opened a dark corridor before jYexrem could respond. "I'll see you next time?" He asked before stepping through.

jYexrem stood staring into his own mind searching for an answer. He gave a nod and Shoujax gave a wave and stepped through his dark corridor. "He should've just told me why they rebelled. I don't like playing games." jYexrem opened his own dark corridor and returned to his castle. Castle Oblivion lay abondoned, yet again.

"Kairi..." Sora lay in a familiar plane of existance. Nothing to see but black all around. "There's no sunshine when she's gone." He thought as the Darkness' cold chill surrounded him."It's never warm when she's gone..." The Darkness slowly sprouted around him. "I wonder where she's gone this time..." It began to intertwine itself around his limbs. "Will I ever find her?" Sora began to seep deeper into the depths of the Darkness with every thought. "There's only Darkness when she's gone...Everyday," Sora's voice began to crack as he spoke. "She's always gone too long anytime she goes away. I know...it's my fault. I could've saved Kairi," The Darkness had almost encompassed him completely. It slowly crept along his chest, wrapping its delicate form around his neck. "I promised her, I'd keep her safe..."

"Hey!" A familiar voice broke into Sora's mind. "Enough with this self pity garbage! I'm not letting my other half be this weak!"

"Other half? Roxas"

"Glad to see you haven't forgot me, Sora," With an outreached hand, Roxas reached for Sora, and their light evaporated every part of the Darkness. Sora and Roxas stood face to face in the Darkness, on a circular platform. The platform was engraved in gold and contained many images, and was divided into tree sections.

"Where are we?" Sora asked.

"This is where the story begins." Roxas replied. He pointed to the bottom of the three sections. They contained pictures of Sora, Riku, and the King back to back holding their keyblades, Sora was facing the point where all three sections met. Kairi and the other princesses of heart were around the entire platform, curving around its edges. Inbetween the princesses in this section, and the Keybladers, were Donald and Goofy holding their respective weapons. "The Heroes," Roxas said.

Roxas walked over to the top left section of the platform. An unfamiliar man stood facing where the three sections met, and an array of hooded figures filled this section. "The Order," Roxas said again and moved to the final section where Sora recognized the man facing the intersection.

"Shoujax," He told Roxas, and he nodded back.

"The Rebels, all the players in your story are here Sora, and each will play an important role to how it ends. Now, get off your ass and get into gear,"

"Roxas, it was my fault, I could've"

"Yeah, but you didn't, get over it! There's nothing to do now but save her right? You're not the only one who lost his girl today"

"Namine..."

"Now, I dunno bout you, but I want my girl back ASAP, and I'm not gonna letting anything or anybody get in my way, got it?" Roxas offered his hand to Sora.

Sora put on a wide grin and shook Roxas' hand. "Got it." A white glow eminated from there hands and it grew into a great blinding flash, and a door appeared in front of them. The door was large towering several feet into the sky, pale white and elegantly designed with curves and spikes, flowing together naturally, with an azure heart engraved on its entryway. The heart was curved slightly at the top so the ends didn't meet(1). They both grabbed the door in unision, and were engulfed into the light.

As the light faded Sora stood in a familiar Gummi Garage. "Sora!" something quacked behind him, Sora went to turn, but it was too late. Already, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto had pounced on Sora.

After the usual greeting Goofy asked "How'd you get here without a gummi?"

Sora shrugged and responded, "My home was destroyed again, I couldn't stop it" Sora's head sank low, but he quickly rose, knocking off the trio of greeters. "Nothing to do now but fix it, right?" He turned and grinned to his allies and they all gave an assuring thumbs up.

"It's about time you got here, Slowbro," Sora gazed up and saw Riku standing with King Mickey. "Where's Kairi"  
Sora looked down at the ground and Riku knew the situation.

"I thought this might happen, but not so soon," Mickey entered.

Donald and Goofy scrambled to their feet and stood at attention. "Your Majesty," they spoke in unision. "Should we begin breifing"

"Yes, of course. Sora, Riku, it's time you learned about our new foes." The Heroes of the Keyblade, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and the Court Wizard exitted the gummi garage, into Disney Castle to learn of the new threat, they would surely battle.

(1)It's basically the Kingdom Hearts logo.


	4. The Twilight Theif

Disney Castle was a true utopia. The sun illuminated the vast circular garden giving the grass, air, and people its comforting warm touch. As the party ascended a small staircase leading to out of the Gummi Garage to this beautiful garden. The artistic shrubbery was beautiful, every sculpture, figure, and structure was maintained perfectly; not a leaf out of place. Sora gazed up at the bright blue sky, shielding his eyes; there wasn't a cloud in the sky to block to sun's warmth.

"So, the Cornerstone's still working, Your Majesty?" Sora asked as they stepped onto the colorful array of the lawn.

Mickey laughed quietly to himself as they stepped onto the path leading to his castle. "You don't have to call me that, Sora, we've already been through enough together where you can call me Mickey," Sora laughed embarrassed as they approached the double doors leading to the castle's entryway. Mickey pushed the doors open as he answered Sora's question, "The Cornerstone's fine. There hasn't been a single trace of Heartless since you guys saved it," They ascended another small staircase before making it to the main hall. "Thanks again, Sora, you really pulled everybody out of a bind,"

Sora laughed again as their footsteps echoed hollowly through the hall. "It's no problem at all, Your Ma-, I mean, Mickey," Sora caught himself in time, as they past the grand doorway to the throne room. It stood several stories tall, a beautiful violet color, and bore the King's seal on both the double doors. "It was really a team effort," He grinned and looked to Donald and Goofy, who soon began chuckling to themselves in accomplishment.

The party stopped suddenly, as they reached the end of the hallway, and the door to the King's Library. "Everything we need to know is in here," Mickey said as he opened the door. "Wh-who are you?!" Mickey asked looking onto a tall hooded figure, fumbling through the books.

It irked hearing the King's voice and turned to the party, a pair of crimson eyes peering through the darkness of the hood. "It's you!" Sora roared, "I know those eyes anywhere!" With a whirlwind of Light, he had summoned his Keyblade and pointed it directly toward the man. "You're out numbered! Give up and tell me where Kairi is!"

The figure removed his hood, and revealed his identity again; Shoujax, was looking rather tired, his eyes closing slightly. "I didn't think I'd see you again so," He let out a yawn mid sentence, "Excuse me, so soon," Sora got extremely irritated as Shoujax yawned.

"This isn't a fucking joke! Where's Kairi?!" Sora leapt over a small table that separted them, toward Shoujax, and swiped upward with is Keyblade, hitting Shoujax' left shoulder. Shoujax fell back onto the bookshelf, causing books to rain down around them. With Sora so close, Shoujax grabbed his wrist, and pulled Sora toward him, and headbutted him directly on his forehead. Sora stumbled back and fell onto the floor.

"Sora!" The entire party shouted, and summoned their weapons, all ready to charge the intruder as he fell to his knees, trying to recover from the blow he had just delivered. His crimson gaze scanned everybody there, as his fingers fumbled across the floor. An excited look came across his face, and he looked down.

"I found the first one," He thought to himself, and heard a loud metal clanking. He looked up only to see the King's seal strike him across the face with cold steel. Goofy had knocked him off his feet, and he skidded back across the marble tile of the Library floor, and hit the wall, still holding on to the book he had found.

Shoujax groaned and rubbed his head, as he heard a hoarse, shrill voice "Fire!". He looked to his right, and saw Donald rising into the air, and a fireball being launched from his Magus Staff. Shoujax placed his empty arm up over his face, and took the small burning flame. He opened the palm of the hand he used to block and pointed it toward Donald. A small bolt of lightning fired from it, and clipped Donald's right wing and he fell with a thud to the floor.

"Donald!" Goofy turned to his fallen comrade, trying to ensure he was safe.

"Goofy focus!" Mickey had shouted at Goofy, sliding under the table that seprated them, his golden Keyblade glistening in the light of the Library. It was exactly like Sora's from tip to tip except the color scheme. The blade of the weapon was golden, along with the keychain that resembled the King's insignia, and the handle was a beautifully pure white. The Keyblade had a small orb of Light surrounding its tip, as Mickey slid under the table and across from Shoujax, who had risen to his feet.

Mickey swung his Keyblade across his front, releasing the orb toward Shoujax, who had a small white aura around his right hand. "If I can't use Darkness, might as well rely on the Light!" He said as he hurled a punch with the hand surrounded by they aura. As the orb and his hand made contact, a blinding light filled the room, and both the orb and Shoujax were knocked away from eachother.

Shoujax hit the bookcase, yet again, as the orb sailed and spun out of control throughout the Library, until finally it hit Riku square in the stomach. He let out a hollow gasp and fell to his knees, as a burning sensation went throughout his torso. "The Light..." He let out a hoarse groan to himself as his Keyblade clanked to floor next to him, and he wrapped his arms around his stomach.

"I found it!" Shoujax picked up another book from the scattered array of novels across the white floor. A book in each hand, Shoujax waved as he was charged by both Goofy and Mickey. "I don't mean to be rude..." He kicked Goofy's sheild with his right foot, and was pinned against the wall by it. "But I gotta get goin," Mickey came in low again, trying to get Shoujax on his right, but was punched by the aura of Light around his right hand.

"Your Majesty!" Goofy was too distracted and hadn't noticed the tiny sparks of electricity flowing down Shoujax leg. Until it was too late; a large shock went through Goofy's metal shield, and he dropped it, being headbutted just like Sora.

"Ow," Shoujax stumbled backward against the wall again, landing on his bum.

Goofy stumbled a few yards and regained composure. "A-hyuck! I get hit on the head alot, you're gonna need to try better than that to do me in!"

Shoujax groaned and rubbed his head, as a Dark Corridor slowly rose from the ground; it seemed to be struggling to grow; twisting and stretching to get big enough for Shoujax to travel through. "Good to know," The Corridor had finally grown big enough for Shoujax to fit through. "Thank you, again, Your Majesty, for your time, effort, and knowledge," Shoujax fell backward into the Corridor as Goofy charged. The Corridor shut immediately after Shoujax entered, and Goofy slammed his head into the wall.

All the Heroes groaned in unision, and tried rising to their feet. "That coward! He should've stayed and faced me like a man!!" Donald hopped and hollered pulling out his feathers in frustration. Everybody walked past Donald, waiting for him to cool off, and met in the center of the room, by the table.

"Who was that guy, Sora?" Goofy asked in his usual kind demeanor.

"He was the one who destroyed our island with the Heartless," Sora replied, when a sudden realization hit him. "We've gotta check the Cornerstone!"

He rocketed past the party, leaving them confused to follow him. His hard rushing foosteps echoed throughout the hall, and he leapt over many walking broomsticks. He stopped in front of the grand double doors leading to the throne room, waiting for Mickey to open it.

Riku, Mickey, and Donald arrived quickly; Goofy had stayed behind to tell the brooms what they had to clean. Mickey stood in front of the gargantuan doorway, and simply knocked on it three times. A regtangular hole opened on the door he knocked on, just the size of any regular doorway. Goofy had finally made it back, as they all entered the large throne room.

The throne room was incredibly large, the size of any plaza or bazaar, and was completely empty, except for the King's throne. The room was a calm azure and a maroon rug, laced with golden trimmings that went on for no less then one hundred yards to the King's throne.

"So, Sora," Mickey asked as they walked toward the throne, "why do we need to check the Cornerstone?"

"The Cornerstone of Light is supposed to protect your world from the beings of Darkness," an apparent look of rage grew on Sora's face. "Even when Maleficent tried to take it, she couldn't physically be here, so if somebody who can manipulate the Heartless could physically touch the planes of this world, something must be wrong with the Cornerstone,"

The party finally arrived at the King's throne, it was much larger than anybody there by a good foot. It had such fine detail, truly deserving of a king. Mickey had walked over to the right arm rest, and pressed a button underneath, causing the throne and a large platfom which it stood to move several yards over; revealing a large staircase leading into the base of the castle.

The party descended into the dark basement where the Cornerstone rested, when Goofy expressed a sudden thought. "But, uh, Sora? If something was wrong with the Cornerstone, why didn't he summon any Heartless during the fight?"

Before Sora could answer, they reached the bottom of the staircase, and stood before the Cornerstone of Light. A large glass orb stood on pure white marble pedestal, a grand maelstrom of Light swirling within its depths; it was the only thing in the basement. Mickey examined the Cornerstone with the greatest detail, and emerged from it with a puzzled look on his face.

"It's fine, nothing's wrong with it," The basement was filled with an awkward silence. Everyone remained motionless, trying to piece together what it means. Many thoughts rushed through Sora's head, any kind of explination, but none he thought of fit the problem.

"He's Twilight, Sora." A familiar voice broke into his head. "All Nobodies belong to the Twilight Realm. They're neither Light, nor Darkness." Roxas had delivered new words of wisdom to Sora, and he repeated it to his friends.

"So that explains why he can manipulate Light during our fight, and the power of the Heartless," Riku said. "We didn't stand a chance as we are now."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked frustrated and insulted at Riku's accusation. "You know he's right," Micky broke in, noticing the trio's displeased looks. "Anybody who can manipulate both the elements, is surely a great threat. We need to head back to the Library, and add this into the Journal."

The party agreed and made the trek back to the Library. When they arrived, it was completely spic and span. The walking brooms had done a fine job, leaving only two empty slots on the bookshelf. A small whimpering echoed from the empty slots, and Riku went to inspect, being the only one tall enough to see. "Uh, guys? There's a roach crying in here,"

"I'm not a roach, young man!" A tiny voice cracked from the shelf, and emerged a familiar scriber for the kingdom. "Jiminy Cricket's the name, got it memorized?"(1) He sniffled as he finished his introduction, and blew into a hanky he had pulled from his coat pocket.

Sora laughed and approached Jiminy, offering his palms as a platform for him to jump on. Jiminy thanked Sora and jumped onto his hands. Sora brought him down to face level and asked "Why the long face?"

Jiminy sighed defeated, and plopped down onto Sora's hands. "I just finished revisions on our chronicles together, and that intruder stole em!" With this new piece of knowledge, the same thought crossed everybody's mind: What could he want with Jiminy's Journal?

"Well, we need to learn about our new advisaries," Mickey interjected, and carried a large encyclopedia, nearly as large as himself, onto the table in the center of the room. He fumbled through the pages, each one blank and he stopped on a random page before speaking. "Show us the new disruption, of chaos upon the worlds..." The book's pages remained blank for a few moments, and inkjets slowly swirled and manifested into letters, pictures, and words.

"The 18th Order" read large across the page, and a detailed description followed. "Their leader, jYexrem, a powerful Nobody bent on using the plans of the late Organization XIII, to become whole once again," the words read under a picture of a large young man, a hood over his face, shadowing it beyond recognition. The page turned by itself, and more information formed onto it.

"The Rebellion; former members of the Order that have seperated from jYexrem under the new leadership of Shoujax. They too, are Nobodies looking to become whole." The portrait of a familiar man formed onto the page, and the party had a look of disgust cross their faces.

"So this is the wise guy who stole my Journals, eh?" Jiminy stepped down onto the page, examening the portrait. "Shoujax...I'll be sure to remember him," Jiminy turned toward the Heroes of Light and pointed triumphantly toward the door. "Let's get him and avenge the disgrace he has put me through, and return the Journals to their rightful place!" His tiny voice boomed confidently, leaving everyone in awe and silence.

The silence was soon broken by Goofy, who erupted into hilarity, soon joined by everyone else. Riku's laughter died down, and he looked at Mickey Mouse. "So, Mick, where's the first place were looking?"

Mickey whiped a tear from his eye, and headed for the door. "Isn't it obvious?" a great grin took over his face and he turned to his allies. "Twilight Town(2), of course!"

(1) A mini tribute to Axel

(2) If you read the first edition, yes, I changed it because it fits Riku's side better. (Romance is in the air, no?)


	5. Off To Twilight Town

The Realms of Light and Darkness were always seperated by the worlds that sat on the border. Stuck between Light and Darkness, not sure which Realm the belong to, they gave themselves their own title: The Twilight Realm. Within this Realm, stood a majestic snow white castle. The Castle of Remembrance, the official headquarters of The 18th Order. A Dark Corridor emerged within its still blindingly white hallways, and jYexrem had emerged from it, his hood down exposing his fairly dark skin and raven hair.

He looked rather flustered as he walked down his hollowed halls. The silence was usually what had filled the halls, but this was an unwelcomed silence. It was due to the lack of members, that had seperated themselves from the Order. After many twists and turns, jYexrem climbed a marble spiral staircase, looking out the windows seeing a luscious green garden that Olixcen regularly tended to. He had passed a floor and the smell of cleanliness infiltrated his nostrils; he knew it was the Rejuvination Chamber one of the members had just used.

He reached the top of the staircase, and a small arsenal of cloaked Nobodies stood, wearing the traditional black zippered cloak, all their hoods up. "Number 1," one of them spoke, an obvious female, "Are you feeling well?"

jYexrem shot her a cold gaze, as he lifted his hood, making his eyes disappear as he spoke, "I don't feel, Xikki," his voice was harsh and cold, sending a chill down everybodys' spine.

The girl fidgeted rather nervously with her fingers, and shot her gaze downard. "Well...uhm, Rex and I are ready to depart with you to get the information you asked for,"

jYexrem sighed, forgetting that he had wanted to leave as soon as possible. He opened a Corridor behind him and quickly turned to walk into it. His voice echoed from its depths "Are you coming or not?" The female and another figure were jerked upright by his voice, and quickly followed into his Corridor before it shut back into nothing, leaving the others behind.

"What do you think he was doing?" A figure asked, another female.

"I don't know, I don't need to know," one replied, and walked away from the dying crowd. "He's prolly still uptight about the Rebels," his voice echoed down the snow white halls, as his shadow popped up and began to converse with him.

The girl stood, watching her siblings go their seperate ways, as one stood with her in the empty hall. "You okay, Nix?"

"Huh?" She had been jerked out of thought by her companion's voice. "Yeah, Oshu, I'm fine. You wanna head to the Saloon?"

Oshujax let out an overly depressed sigh, "I guess so. It's not the same without, Bro,"

The duo walked down the marble staircase, hand in hand, as they spoke. "I know, Oshu, who'd of thunk Shou would be the one to rebel?"

"A founding member of this Order, betraying us to start up one of his own. None of it makes sense!" his voice echoing through the silent castle.

"I think the thing that hurts Rem the most is, others chose Shou over him," the duo halted immediately, as a Dark Corrdior pooled around their feet. As they sank into the endless abyss, they looked into the other's eyes and knew, the end of something was approaching, their hopes: It was the end of being Nobody.

The Gummi Garage was full of foreign noises and strange mechanics. Gears shifted, hydrolics pumped, and the arguing of two busy chipmunks were slightly muffled by it all. Sora was the first to burst through the door, he was filled to the brim with excitement. He elegantly leaped over each staircase, stumbling as he landed, and slamming into the bright orange Gummi Ship, capable of traveling safely between the worlds. He arose from the ordeal, and looked behind him to see if anybody had noticed his 'investigation' of the paint job.

To his embarrassment, Riku caught him, and his seafoam green eyes glew with delight, as he attempted to hold back his laughter. He managed to contain himself long enough to ask, "Why are you so excited, Sora? You act like we're going back home,"

"I am going back home retard!" Sora exclaimed, rather defensivly. The words surprised even him as they escaped his mouth. "Well, half of me is," he had corrected himself, trying not to offend his best friend, who was now making his way down the staircases.

"Oh, that's right...Roxas," Riku drifted into his own mind, as his own memories of Twilight Town flowed through his mind. He had met many people there, Roxas, Namine, and even Axel. All three of them, however, had left this life. A sudden quack brought him back to reality, as he saw Goofy tumbling down the stairs, and into him. A domino effect occured, and Sora too was knocked off his feet by his two companions, and was again slammed into the flourescent Gummi Ship.

Donald began howling with laughter, and soon followed Goofy's example, and stumbled down the steps, landing flat on his bill. The rest of the party had risen to there feet, and began sharing another moment of laughter, as the Court Wizard huffed and puffed walking down the stairs.

"Well, when are we leaving?" Donald asked, slightly agitated. Everybody shrugged, waiting for the King's answer, but he was nowhere to be found. "Where'd he go?" The party adverted their gaze upward, toward the top of the staircase, and saw the sillohoutte of King Mickey and his Queen, Minnie Mouse.

The royal couple locked hands below their hips, intertwining their fingers with the others. "How long will you be gone?" the Queen timidly asked, her voice squeaking to him.

"I don't know, Love. But I'll be back as soon as I can." he whispered to her, leaning his forehead against hers. The long time lovers shared a moment of silence, leaning their heads against their partner's. Their eyes shut as they continued their silent embrace, cementing their bond together in their own strange ritual. Their embrace was cut short, however, by a rude Dutchess.

"Donald Duck!" Her voice shrilly echoed and broke the intimacy of the Royal Family's moment. She politely bowed to both the King and Queen and apologized for interruptting, before shoving them both out of the way, and making her way down into the Garage. "I _know_ you weren't planning to leave without saying goodbye!" Her eyes burning with ferocity toward her own life long partner.

Donald chuckled nervously, and looked back toward his allies for help. To his dismay, they were whistling non chalontly, trying to stay out of the lovers' quarrel. "DONALD!!" He quickly turned around, and wrapped his arms around his bride, dipping her in the process. Their eyes met, and Daisy began blushing profusely.

"Daisy Duck, I won't say goodbye to you, because I'm going to see you very soon. I'll return victorious, defeating all who oppose my return to you," The suave fowl went in for a smooch, but his lips met a familiar fine, feathered fist. A collectve groan echoed through the hanger, and Donald lay on his back, staring at the ceiling of the Garage, dazed and confused.

"That was very romantic, Mr. Duck," his wife had appeared over him, he could only make out her face, "but this was a conversation best saved for _intamacy!"_ Donald cringed, awaiting another blow from his lover, but a soft pair lips met his forehead and she stared lovingly into his eyes. "I'll miss you,"

"You too," gasped from the bird's throat, relieved that he wasn't in anymore trouble.

"Alright, Crew," Mickey's voice called from the top of the staircase, as he made his way down to the party, holding his Queen's hand. "It's time we shipped out," Sora and Riku nodded, anxious to return to Twilight Town. Goofy sighed and clumsily climbed into the Gummi Ship, and was soon followed by Riku and Sora. The pair of lovers bid farewell, and their men boarded the Gummi Ship, quick to realize it was overly crowded.

"So, off to Twilight Town?" the muffled voice of Goofy emerged from the backseat, as Mickey took the piloting position.

"Prepare for take off!" a pair of high pitched voices echoed toward them, and those capable of turning their heads could see Chip and Dale waving them farewell. The multicolored gears began to twirl and spin, causing a large tunnel to open within the hanger in front of the Ship. The Gummi Ship's engines soon ignited and shook the Ship and it's passengers with their power.

"So long!" The women waved goodbye, as arrows soon lit up the tunnel, pointing away into the distance. Mickey blew his girl a kiss, and Donald waved goodbye, as a much larger arrow appeared in the middle of the tunnel, pointing down. The Gummi Ship plummeted to its doom, and into a new much larger tunnel below it.

After the boys grew hoarse from yelling, they noticed they were perfectly fine, and in the vast perpetual space between world's. Stars sparkled brightly in the distance, and a wide array of colors, known and unkown, swirled and danced around one another creating beautfiul works of art. The Gummi Ship rocketed off toward the distance, as Disney Castle grew smaller and smaller, and soon faded out of sight behind them.

Twilight Town lay inbetween the Realms of Light and Darkness, continuosly basking in an orange glow. The Heroes of Light approached the world, and Sora couldn't contain himself. "We're here! We're here! We're here!" He began to force himself past the other passengers, trying to get a better view.

"Sora! Sit the fuck down!" A wide array of voices boomed within the crowded cockpit at the same time toward the overzealous Hero, and everybody caught glances with everyone else. "Freaky..." again, in unision, this time Sora included. A long pause followed as they approached close enough to depart onto Twilight Town. Jiminy Cricket popped out of Sora's jacket, and clung to the glass dome of the cockpit.

"So, fellas, what're we doing here?"

"I'm going to go see Yen Sid. Donald and Goofy, I want you to patrol the Abondoned Mansion."

"Sir!" Goofy and Donald saluted accepting their mission.

"Riku, Sora, you both need to explore Twilight Town, and find anything Roxas left behind."

"Roxas-"

"Left behind?" The boys looked perplexed at one another, trying to piece together what the King could've meant. The Gummi Ship came to a slow stop, and began to orbit the world of Twilight Town.

"Everybody ready?" The party nodded, each knowing their job and what they were expected to do. "We'll meet at the train station in an hour, aggreed?" Everybody agreed, and departed into Roxas' homeworld; Twilight Town.


End file.
